Yes, this blog is called The Houmous Pages, but its also about falafel, schwarma and other delicious street foods of the levant. Hummus, homous, houmous, humus however you spell it, it really can be delicious!

Tuesday, March 28, 2006

Amazing houmous, lovely toppings, great original concept and fast. The service was friendly and helpful, and the food arrived very quickly. We were on our way to the theatre and were in and out in 20 minutes (although I could have easily continued drinking my mint tea for the next hour...). Bang in the middle of Soho, this is one place you have to experience. We paid 7 pounds a head (drinks and all) - so great value for money too. "RECOMMENDED"

Saturday, March 25, 2006

The Maoz logo will be familiar to anyone who’s ever hungrily roamed the streets of central Amsterdam. The small chain is now expanding into territory outside its native Netherlands: along with branches in Spain, France and even the US, it’s opened this plain but surprisingly large takeout operation right on ever-buzzing Old Compton Street. The menu is perfectly simple: freshly made falafel . There are a few tables should you wish to eat in.

Taboon means oven in Arabic and in their Taboon in the jewish area of north-west London they bake some amazing pit, propably the best in London and laffa (Iraqi pita) But the speciality is the specialty is falafel in pita with hummus and salad; good value.

Friday, March 24, 2006

In Tel Aviv, as in other places in Israel, everyone is constantly stuffing ther faces. Dominating the junction of Bograshov and Ben Yehuda is a place that ticks all of the Shwarma lovers boxes. They don't just sell one type of Shwarma either, you can choose from the Holy Trinity of lamb, turkey or chicken and either eat in or take your prize and devour it while you make your way.

Take as much salad as you want, as long as it will fit on the tiny salad plate that you are given. Enjoy your Shwarma by the plateful, the pita breadful or in a wrap. The wrap will contain enough meat to feed a small but hungry family.

Also offers a choice of sauces, from mild through to hot chilli sauce, to minty, yoghurty sauces.

Talk to the people that eat at Gina's and you'll find that everyone has there own reason for loving it. Some say it is the soft and fluffy pita bread, others will say that it is the way each ball is perfectly crisp on the outside, warm and yeilding on the inside. In any case, people will walk the length of Tel Aviv just for a falafel fix. Gina's is the city's falafel afficionado's favourite and for very good reasons. Very much worth a visit.

On my daily perambulations around the Pinsker/Bograshov area, I would often pass this buzzy little place, but there would never be a spare table.

Eventually the day arrived when it was time to take my seat in its sunny dining area.

The name is apparently Galillee slang for a plate of Houmous with houmous grains and judging from the amount of eulogising notes on the wall this place is well regarded amongst the local houmous cognecenti.

They also do an excellent eggplant platter and their pickles are homemade and quite delicious.

This very popular northern Tel Aviv houmous joint serves smooth as well as grainy houmous. Their vegetable soup is also a favourite, served by a very vocal waitress who is wont to praise both her soup and her houmous in song.

Graham's shared items

Basic Felafel Recipe

Finely cut and fry an onion and clove of garlic. Mix with a well-drained can of chickpeas, a few teaspoons of curry powder and a sprinkling of flour. The mixture should be quite dry. Blend with a blender until reasonably smooth, but leave a few lumps for texture. On a floured board, roll lumps of mixture into balls around the size of a ping-pong ball, coating completely in flour. Shallow fry the balls until they are brown. Serve in a warm pitta bread with salad (surówka works well) and a drizzle of plain yoghurt.

Lebanese Felafel Recipe

Drain chick peas. Quarter onion and potato. Run all through fine holes of the meat grinder along with the garlic two times. Add all remaining ingredients except baking soda and vegetable oil. Mix well. Run through grinder once more. Mix again. Cover and leave to rest for two to three hours. Heat oil for deep frying. While oil is heating add baking soda to the chick pea mixture. With dampened hands, form mixture into balls the size of a walnut, then flatten slightly into a patty. Deep fry, making sure patties are cooked through and are golden brown. Remove from oil with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.